Chapter 4

At 9 PM, Ethan came home.

He was holding a beautifully wrapped, limited-edition Barbie set. The shiny packaging felt like a pathetic attempt to buy his way out of trouble.

I sat on the living room sofa, focusing on the latest financial reports of our company.

After Lily was born, I had stepped back from the day-to-day operations to focus on our family.

I left most of the company's management to my partner, and handed a small portion over to Ethan.

Looking back, it was a total joke.

Ethan walked over to Lily’s bedroom door and knocked gently.

"Lily, look what daddy got for you!"

The door remained closed. Only Lily’s loud voice came through.

"I don't want your toys! Give them to Leo!"

Ethan’s patience wore thin.

He walked over to me and tossed the Barbie box onto the coffee table.

"Chloe, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"I already explained everything to you. You need to tell Lily to stop acting out. Don't bring your petty drama into our kid's head."

"Do you really have to be this cold and heartless?"

Seeing that I didn't even look up at him, Ethan grew even more frustrated.

He yanked at his tie, his voice dripping with self-righteous anger.

"Maya’s ex-husband was a deadbeat gambler who ran off and left them with a mountain of debt! She’s raising a sick kid all by herself and can barely afford rent!"

"I’m just lending her some money and helping her out around the house."

"You’ve lived a privileged life, Chloe. You have no idea how hard it is for people at the bottom!"

I closed my laptop and looked at him blankly.

"If you understand her so well, why don't you just hand over your entire paycheck to her?"

"You are completely unreasonable!"

Ethan raised his voice.

"You sit there with a cold face all day long. This house feels like a freezer! Even when I hand over my salary, you never smile."

"But Maya is always sweet and warm. When I go over to help, she always hands me a glass of warm water, and her kid calls me daddy."

"I just wanted to feel a little bit of warmth in a home. What did I do wrong?!"

Unbelievable.

He actually managed to paint his emotional affair as a search for "family warmth."

Looking at this complete stranger, I didn't even have the energy to argue.

"Are you done? We have the company’s annual VIP gala tomorrow. I need to sleep."

Ethan was completely enraged by my cold shoulder.

He pointed a finger at me, his voice carrying a blatant threat.

"Chloe, don't think you can boss me around."

"Tomorrow’s gala is huge. A lot of major industry leaders are coming, and they're all coming to see the new projects and patents that "my" team developed."

"If you keep up this attitude, I won't show up tomorrow. Let's see how you explain that to the investors!"

The gala was for our company's fifth anniversary.

The guests were our key suppliers and investors.

It was a crucial event to maintain our business relationships.

He thought he could use his leverage to force me to back down.

But I have never been someone who takes threats lightly.

"Do whatever you want."

With that, I walked into my bedroom and locked the door.

Outside, I heard Ethan kick the trash can over with a loud crash, followed by the heavy slam of the front door.

The next morning at 10 AM, Ethan showed up anyway.

He couldn't bear to miss an event where he could network and show off his status as a successful businessman.

Ethan walked up to me, smiling warmly at a group of executives.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Chloe worked sleepless nights preparing for this gala. I was honestly so worried about her health."

The executives praised us for being such a supportive couple. Soon, they started discussing the upcoming projects for the second half of the year with Ethan.

Ethan couldn't hide his smugness. He leaned in and whispered in my ear:

"See? Without me, you wouldn't even have a seat at this table. Let's forget about last night. I'll cook you a late-night snack when we get home."

I maintained my perfect smile but said nothing.

Half an hour later, my business partner, Liam, walked through the crowd with a frown and pulled me into the VIP lounge.

"Chloe, is there something going on with Ethan?"

"He just used your digital company credentials to request an urgent wire transfer of two million dollars. He claimed you approved it as an advance payment for a new materials supplier."

He showed me his tablet.

The recipient was "R-M Trading Corp."